“She did,” Fiona said, coming forward from the squab. “She said I couldn’t go, but I insisted. I said I’d go without her.” She glanced over at Prudence and hoped she wouldn’t contradict her. “It was my fault, not hers.” Fiona stared squarely into the earl’s eyes. The pewter looked almost silver in the dim light.

“I see.” He cast a dubious frown toward Prudence. “I expect you will be more persuasive in the future?”

Prudence stiffened. “I will try, my lord.”

Fiona felt terrible. She would not risk Prudence’s position ever again.

Turning her head as her heartbeat finally began to slow, Fiona stared out the window. This was a big change from the life she’d known. Was it so bad that she wanted to experience every moment, to see as much as she could?

“I am sorry, Lord Overton,” she said quietly.

“Just be careful, Miss Wingate. You wouldn’t want to ruin your chances.”

For marriage. He hadn’t said that, but that’s what he’d meant. For a brief moment, Fiona wondered if ruination might be better.

Chapter 5

Tobias could still feel the excitement radiating from his ward as they left the map room at the British Museum. They’d spent all of their time in just this one place, and she still hadn’t seen everything she wanted to.

“I’m sorry we didn’t view anything else,” she said a bit sheepishly as they made their way along a gallery, her hand curled about his forearm. “And I’m glad Prudence didn’t come, for then I would have bored two people instead of one.”

Lady Pickering had assured Tobias that he could escort his ward to the museum without a companion or chaperone since he was her guardian, and it was a very public place.

“I wasn’t bored at all.” He’d enjoyed perusing the maps with her. In all honesty, he enjoyed watching her delight. “Besides, I’ve been here many times, and we shall return.”

She beamed at him, her deep brown eyes gleaming with joy. “This is the best day I’ve ever had.”

Tobias felt rather humbled by her statement. It was, after all, just a trip to a museum. Except he supposed it was much more than that for her. She’d spent a few hours poring over maps, which was apparently her favorite thing to do. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Since you like maps so much, I wonder what you think of cartography.”

“Well, obviously I support the endeavor,” she said wryly. “If you’re asking if I’d like to create maps, I’ve never considered it.”

“Would you like to read about it? Perhaps you could start with Ptolemy’s Geographia.”

She slowed, and he had to drastically reduce his stride lest he drag her along. “I’m afraid I did not have an extensive education. I did read all that I could, but I am not familiar with that book.”

Humility returned as did a bit of regret. He didn’t want her to feel embarrassed about not knowing things. “Are you familiar with Ptolemy?”